Day In The Life | Fido Group

Pre-Walk Preparation

Before every session, we inspect our leashes, harnesses, pet-waste bags, water jug, and other equipment.
This also includes a kibble pouch, which is important for reinforcing positive behavior and diffusing potential reactivity that may threaten the group.
We also make sure our transport van is sanitary in between top-to-bottom cleanings each week.

Arrival at Your Home

You’ll use our client portal to book the day and time of your service at the beginning of the week (though we do try to accommodate last-minute requests as much as possible).
We arrive within a 3-hour window based on that day’s schedule.
Once we’ve entered your home according to your instructions, we’ll gather your dog and gear and head to the van.
We always stay quiet and remove our shoes out of respect for your home. We also leave a towel by the door in case we need to wipe off dirty paws later.

Group Walk Location

If your home isn’t our last pickup on your dog's group, we’ll drive to the remaining homes on our route.
We then either park the van and begin our walk at the final home or drive to a neutral space.
“Neutral” means a public location that’s near a park or open area with minimal foot and automobile traffic. This is ideal for your dog’s safety and your neighbors.
We have great respect for our community, which includes making sure our groups don’t soil others’ lawns, dig up gardens, or otherwise treat people’s property as a playground.

The Walk

Dogs are predictable. We even know exactly what our long-term clients’ pets will do and when along our routes, which allows us to plan accordingly.
Walks typically begin with a bathroom break. We know what signals indicate a need to evacuate versus just marking territory, so we make sure they do what they really need to do and then move quickly on to the exercise.
We split time between grass and concrete. Fewer smells on pavement (and dangerous trash like chicken bones hidden in the grass) help keep snouts up and paws moving.

Return Home

After a full 30 minutes of activity, we get back in the van and make our way home.
We return in reverse order. So, with the first pickup being the last drop-off, we could have dog #1 for up to 75 minutes that day.
Given the DC’s range of weather, we keep our van climate-controlled while we take each dog inside.
We then make sure the water bowl is full and follow any special post-walk instructions from the owner before leaving.

Report Card

Our last step involves completing a report for each dog shortly after the walk.
The automated email you receive from the client portal will cover what the walk included. It also confirms that we performed all in-home duties and owner-specific requests.
If there’s something we feel you should know about your dog—such as unusual behavior or other noteworthy observations—we’ll include this as well.

Our Beliefs Define Our Visits

Premier service requires not only organization and reliability, but also a commitment to beliefs that elevate it beyond reproach. That’s why we go to great lengths to create an experience worthy of your highest expectations.

As the Upper Northwest’s leading dog-walking practice, we believe in:

Guardianship

Before joining, dogs must be up to date on their vaccinations. We also conduct a thorough discovery and onboarding process to ensure group safety. If we encounter a potentially dangerous situation on our walks—whether within or outside of the group—we take appropriate, humane action to protect the welfare of all.

Maintenance

Sounds obvious, but it’s not always the case. Some services advertising half-hour walks end up only providing 20 minutes of outdoor time, with the rest covering pickup and drop-off duties. Not ours. Your dog is on the leash for the full 30, so actual sessions may last anywhere from 45 to 75 minutes based on routing.

Awareness

You’ll never see our walkers doing anything other than focusing on your dog. Proper safety and performance require all five senses, so we maintain situational awareness at all times. Otherwise, we may miss critical signals from the dogs or overlook events (and threats) unfolding around us that impact our route.

Cleanliness

This is true throughout our interaction with your pet, but particularly in transit. Our specially outfitted, commercial-grade vans are routinely disinfected. We also use bleach treatments and disinfectants to minimize transmission of disease.

Diligence

From standardized leash sizes to manufacturer-specific equipment, we pay attention to every little detail and only use the best, high-quality professional-grade products and tools on the market. We rely on the best so that you can rely on us.

Day in the Life FAQ

Below are common questions we receive about our day-to-day operations.

1) It is the client's responsibility to provide access information, such as house keys, lockbox codes, alarm system codes, or other relevant information.

2) It is the client's responsibility to provide adequate amounts of food, litter, treats, medications, pet waste bags, and other items needed for the complete care of their pet(s).

3) It is the client's responsibility to provide and maintain up-to-date rabies and Bordetella vaccination documentation and for their pet to wear a collar possessing the pet's name, legible contact information including a phone number, and an up-to-date rabies identification tag.

4) It is the client's responsibility to contact us via Time To Pet.

5) Caution must always be exercised when handling live animals. For the safety of all parties, it is the client's responsibility to notify us if other people, such as cleaning services, repair persons, friends, family, and neighbors, are entering and leaving your home during the time we are scheduled to provide services.

We field hundreds of operations-related messages daily and must keep correspondence in one central platform to ensure that all client requests are addressed promptly.

All bookings, cancellations, last-minute service requests, and questions must be made via Time To Pet, which is accessible on the Time To Pet mobile application or at www.timetopet.com/portal/fidogroup. Alternatively, you may directly reply to any Time To Pet email or visit report card you receive from us.

We do not offer dog boarding services and offer traditional house-sitting services on a case-by-case basis. However, we have an extended pet care solution called Travel Services for those needing coverage while traveling away from home.

Many people wish to keep their pets away from boarding facilities and kennels and in the comfort of their own homes while traveling. Travel Services substitute for boarding and house-sitting services. For the safety and welfare of the animals under our care, we require the following service booking minimums when ordering Travel Services:

Four (4) Group Dog Walk visits per day
One (1) Kitty Visit Check-In per day

Get in touch today to see how we can take one more thing off your plate—and make sure there’s always something on your pet’s!

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Portal

Book service orders, make service change requests, cancel services, pay invoices, add new credit card information, update pet and home details, upload vaccination records, or send us a message in our fully modern client portal.